Colorado Plateau Foundation Rapid Response Grants

Rapid Response grants are an exception to CPF's regular grantmaking, reserved for unforeseen, time-sensitive circumstances requiring action within days or a few weeks — explicitly not for activities that can reasonably wait for a regular grant cycle. They provide up to $10,000, can be applied for at any time, and are separate from the annual cycle. Native-led and Native-controlled organizations (majority of governing board AND staff are Native) in service to tribal nations on the Colorado Plateau, working in one of four priority areas — protection of water, protection of sacred places and threatened landscapes, preservation of Native languages, and food security through sustainable community-based agriculture; 501(c)(3)s, Tribal governments with IRS 7871 status, or organizations with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor; past grantees must be in good standing on required reports. An unexpected legal or administrative deadline threatening tax-exempt status or the ability to keep serving the community; an unforeseen environmental emergency such as water-source contamination or a hazardous spill; a sudden threat to a culturally significant place requiring emergency documentation, monitoring or rapid mobilization. Fundraising events, individuals, non-Native-majority-led organizations, businesses, existing staff salaries, expenses already incurred, land acquisition or research, education programs or scholarships, capital campaigns, literary or film projects, and conference attendance fees.

Stated: eligible applicants apply through the CPF Foundant portal at any time, stating the amount of funds requested and the intended use. The CPF Program Officer emails the decision to the applicant's primary contact within 10-12 business days of submission. All recipients must share grant outcomes with the Program Officer within six months of receiving funds. Questions to mnuvayestewa@coloradoplateaufoundation.org.